The present invention relates to mechanisms for mounting vehicle radiators.
Lawn and garden tractors typically include an engine for driving ground engaging drive wheels and other vehicle implements such as mowers. Some engines are oriented such that their crank shafts extend vertically. Water cooled engines of this type typically include a radiator that is positioned above the engine. A cooling fan is positioned directly between the radiator and the engine. The cooling fan serves to pull air downwardly through the radiator. Heat from the radiator is transmitted to the air flowing through the radiator. The fan then directs the hot air through suitable discharge ducts. The fluid within the radiator is cooled by the flow of air, and then re-circulates to the engine for further cooling the engine.
The engines described above are often mounted to the frame by way of rubber bumpers or cushions. The rubber cushions or isolators allow the engine to vibrate with respect to the frame, and therefore the rubber cushions effectively isolate the engine from the frame for preventing vibrations of the engine from being transmitted into the frame. This generally results in less vehicle shaking and rattling, and therefore results in less noisy operation and a more comfortable ride for the operator. Excessive vehicle vibration can also cause wear or damage to other vehicle components.
The radiators provided by lawn and garden tractors of this type are typically rigidly fixed with the top portion of the engine. The radiator will therefore vibrate with the engine during engine operation. Typical radiators are rugged enough that they will not be damaged by the vibrations experienced when fixed in this manner to the top portions of gas powered engines. Diesel fuel engines tend to vibrate more than gas powered engines, and radiators fixed above a diesel fuel engine in this manner may have to be more ruggedly constructed, such as with more substantial part thicknesses, to withstand the greater vibrational force encountered during operation. These more rugged radiators are generally more costly to manufacture.
The engines of other lawn maintenance vehicles are oriented horizontally such that the engine crank shaft extends generally horizontally. The radiators for these vehicles typically extend vertically and are rigidly fixed directly with the vehicle's frame adjacent the engine and cooling fan. Since the radiator is fixed with the frame and not with the vibrating engine, the radiator is generally isolated from the vibrations of the engine. When horizontal crank shaft engines are utilized in this manner, the radiator is positioned in a location proximate the vehicle frame and therefore the vehicle frame provides convenient structure to which the radiator can be rigidly fixed. When vertical crankshaft engines are utilized for lawn and garden tractor, the radiators are positioned above the engine and remote from the frame such that the vehicle frame does not provide structure to which the radiator can be mounted. Therefore, radiators are typically mounted directly to the engine when vertical crankshaft engines are used in lawn maintenance vehicles.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a mechanism for reducing the occurrence of damage in radiators that are positioned above vertical shaft engines in vehicles such as lawn and garden tractors. It would be desirable to provide a mechanism that allows less ruggedly constructed and therefore less costly radiators to be utilized with vertical crank shaft engines that vibrate substantially during operation, such that the overall cost to manufacture the vehicle is reduced. It would also be desirable for such a mechanism to be adapted for use with a vehicle that has an engine mounted with the frame by way of rubber type mounting bumpers or isolaters so that the vibrations created by the engine are not all transferred to the vehicle frame. This will insulate the seated operator from the vibrations of the engine and generally increase operator comfort.